Day: September 15, 2026

The leadership change in Okinawa could deal a quiet blow to Beijing’s attempts to leverage local opposition to remilitarisation and the US-Japan military alliance, according to analysts. They added that the shift would compel Chinese academics and state media to recalibrate their messaging and approach towards the strategically vital Japanese prefecture. Genta Koja, the 42-year-old backed by Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party to become Okinawa’s new governor, defeated incumbent Denny Tamaki on Sunday. This brought an end to eight years of Tamaki’s leadership, characterised by vocal pacifism and active regional…

Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun’s address to a defence gathering in Beijing on Wednesday carried a message for Washington but it was delivered in a notably softer, less critical tone, according to a retired senior colonel in the People’s Liberation Army. Zhou Bo, now a senior fellow at the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, said Dong’s tone was “relatively mild”, even as the Chinese defence minister made veiled references to the US and its actions in the Middle East. Beijing a force for peace, says China’s…

In his 20-minute address, Dong outlined China’s goals for global governance, multilateralism, conflict prevention and the development of emerging technology. Global security at a ‘moment of fragility’ Dong started by warning that a “zero-sum mindset” could not resolve today’s problems. He said that while China upheld a cooperative security approach, global governance would either advance or regress. South China Morning Post

The first “China shock” was fairly easy to understand. Beginning in the 1990s, cheap Chinese goods poured into global markets, displacing large parts of lower-end manufacturing across the world. Now, China shock 2.0 seems to be under way, with China taking the lead in electric vehicles (EVs), batteries, solar panels, semiconductors and other more technologically sophisticated industries. This is often perceived as a trade problem, with Chinese manufacturers producing too much, selling too cheaply and flooding global markets with subsidised goods. However, the more consequential question is not just why…

This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account below. Beijing is hosting China’s most important annual defence conference, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, bringing defence officials, former politicians and think tank experts to the city from around the world. About 200 specialists and researchers are expected to take part in the forum this week, which many see as Beijing’s answer to Singapore’s annual Shangri-la Dialogue, the region’s biggest defence conference. This year marks the Xiangshan Forum’s 20th anniversary. The three-day event runs…

When Chinese President Xi Jinping met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi last week on the sidelines of the Brics summit, another country loomed large in the background, even in its absence: the United States. After the meeting, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to maintain peace at the disputed border and strengthen economic ties. Beijing’s readout, however, offered a pointed reminder of the US factor in India-China ties. The official Chinese statement claimed that Modi assured Xi that India adhered to an “independent foreign policy” and that its…

I remember 2011 well. Indonesia was chairing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and I was serving as deputy foreign minister for Asean cooperation. I learned a great deal, although if I had to summarise the experience in one word, I would say: meetings. Asean members meet. They talk. They disagree. They issue statements. Then, quite remarkably, they meet again. We meet in conference rooms, coffee shops and restaurants. We speak by telephone and online. And when matters become particularly serious, there is always durian. To outsiders, Asean consensus can…

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday confirmed that he will meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng this weekend for the final preparatory talks between the two sides, less than a week before Chinese President Xi Jinping travels to Washington for a bilateral summit with US President Donald Trump. “With China, we have had some very good private discussions, and I look forward to those continuing this weekend when I meet my Chinese counterpart Vice [Premier] He Lifeng,” Bessent said during a House Financial Services Committee hearing. South China Morning…

While experts say that Genta Koja’s victory will not give Tokyo any new military authority in the region, it could lead to closer integration of civilian infrastructure into Japan’s defence network in case of a conflict – including one over Taiwan. Koja’s election would give Tokyo “room to expand its so-called Nansei shift, that is to concentrate its military build-up in the southwestern part of Japan to deter China’s military presence in the East and South China seas”, said Sebastian Maslow, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo. Maslow…